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04 February 2013

LOVE'S RED HEART, by Virginnia de Parté

Love’s Red Heart

Now six
years on from where Love’s Bright Star left us, we are on a small holding in
the Australian desert. Siobhan and James have raised Stella far from where
snooping agents charged with locating all g-altered people are likely to easily
discover Stella’s secret ability, nor her parents and family’s..

James’
sister Jill has joined Siobhan on the farm, enjoying a break from Melbourne’s
bustle and the opportunity to be with her niece – exasperating as Stella’s
talent can make things.

The author
has a delightful ability to write of these g-altered people’s lives and
domesticity in a way that makes them seem completely unsurprisingly ordinary.
These characters’ Sci-Fi element never intrudes on the storyline ofa family with a secret which sometimes
becomes a problem. It’s all perfectly naturallly handled, making for a
comfortable read throughout.

Stella,
born in Wellington New Zealand, has a visit routinely from her personal
physician, Dr. Michael Scott, who is well aware of the particular factor in the
family and Stella, and does what he can to ensure she develops well. He flies
in for a customary visit, and also to travel parts of the desert, treating the
aboriginal children – his offical excuse for the trip and its funding.

An
almost-romance begins to develop between Michael and Jill – but something
disrupts their relationship, neither fullyl understanding why, nor each other’s
reasonings. Michael leaves the station abruptly, to travel to the far flung settlements of
aboriginal peoples, to vaccinate and gather data on health and diet conditions. After too
long a period of no one hearing from him, the family decide to track him and
Charlie (his aboriginal tracker), rather than call the police. While
considering their options, Stella forces their hand by announcing where she has
seen Doctor Mike.

Stellla now
becomes an integral part of the action, as her g-altered powers assist those
who need to locate and rescue Doctor Mike and Charlie. The author’s ability to
so delightfully and accurately convey the mannerisms of a talented but
unprecocious six-year old girl allow Stella’s role to remain utterly
believable, as James and Jill set off on their rescue mission.

The villains
of the piece are unscrupulously callous of their mining workers’ conditions,
and when James and Jill drive away with Doctor Mike and Charlie they follow in
pursuit, hoping to protect their mine from being closed down. But our family
gives them the slip, and Dr Mike wants to carry on serving the small
communities, using Jill’s g-altered talent to help reach the peoples’ belief
system, and undo the damage caused years ago by an anti-vaccination campaigner.

Jill’s
talent, once revealed to the people in the settlements, causes them to believe
something spiritual has come among them and they accept Mike’s vaccinations of
their childen without further hesitation. Jill is determined to retain a
friendly relationship with Mike – we learn better.

Nearly
discovered by Defence Department agents, Mike and helper Willie clear out of
the settlement, leaving Jill undiscovered and safe, under the care of the
aboriginal people of the settlement. Mike has to continue his work, for
appearance’s sake, but his moments of worry about Jill reveal more of his
feelings than he has shared with other characters. Jill too worries about Mike
and his safety, as she travels overland in Charlie’s truck back to the
homestead. Stella is now being their courier, using her skill to bring messages
and small items of news.

When
finally reunited, Mike and Jill come to an inevitable understanding – the
heart’s needs outweigh old promises, and the romance is free to progress at its
own pace – complete with words of wisdom from a six-year old.

Within the
final chapter, de Parté once again shows her skill in creating romance scenes
of pleasure and delight, and will win fans eager for the third in the series. Be on the
watch in April for the prequel of this series, A Talent for Loving

Read
the writer’s poems at: http://derynpittar.tumblr.com/
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